Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies

Someone brought it up to me the other day that my blog, The Savvy Sweet Potato, is thus far lacking any recipes containing sweet potato. Uhh…what? Really? Completely shocked and utterly embarrassed, I figured I should remedy this situation with a recipe for brownies. Redemption at its sweetest:

High in iron, B vitamins, magnesium, and carotenoids (cancer fighters/immune boosters), sweet potatoes, if you couldn’t already guess, are my absolute favorite vegetable. This proclamation is huge, because I happen to love all vegetables on planet earth. Sweet potatoes take the cake though (or…brownie….see what I did there?) because they are just so versatile. For instance, you can turn them into delicious fudgey brownies! I am not pullin your leg here. Read on.

I have made this recipe several times with pretty good reviews from friends. But, this time, I tweaked the recipe a bit and these brownies jumped from good to out of this world amazing. They are made with such a simple list of delicious, nutritious ingredients that when I went to eat one (or three….) for dessert, I actually felt really energized and awake. This led me to the justification that I could eat one for breakfast…but moving on…

The real game changer was toasting the almonds before I ground them and adding in cacao nibs. What in the hell are cacao nibs, you ask? Good question. They’re like the OG chocolate…basically they are just whole natural cocoa beans that have been mechanically split. They are quite bitter on their own, but impart a rich chocolatey crunch when paired with something a little sweeter. They are packed full of anti oxidants, which is the reason any fashion magazine you read will tell you to eat a little chocolate now and again, it’s healthy for you. However, these little guys are only found in health food stores and can get pricey, so if you would like to make a switch-a-roo, I suggest adding in dark chocolate chips (preferably mini) and taking out the maple syrup. Toasting the almonds adds a layer of rich nutty smokey flavor and is a necessary step, in my humble opinion.

Completely dairy, sugar, and gluten free, creamy sweet potatoes and caramel-like dates form the bulk of these delicious fudgey brownies.

Start by toasting up them almonds. Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees or put in toaster oven until browned and begin to omit a toasted aroma. Stir frequently…careful not to burn!

Once toasted up, put almonds food processor and grind until they become almost powdered. Set aside.

Peel and dice the 2 sweet potatoes, then steam for about 20 minutes (they are done when you can poke them with a fork and they’re mushy) then add to food processor

While the taters are steaming, the dates need to be softened. Place the dates in a bowl of hot water (so water covers all dates) to soak for about 15 minutes, or if lazy like myself, place in bowl of water and microwave for 2-3 minutes. Take out the pits and add to food processor. Process dates/sweet potato mixture until crrrrreamy as possible

Mix in bowl with ground almonds and remaining ingredients

Grease a square baking dish with olive or coconut oil (or simply line with parchment paper) and spread batter into pan

Sprinkle brownies with a little cocoa powder and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Brownies are done when pierced with a fork and the fork comes out dry.

Let brownies cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. I know this is complete torture, but I promise its a necessity so they have a chance to set. Do as I say and not what I do- be patient.

Today’s song of choice is an oldie, but of course, a goody. I have been listening to a lot of old music recently…lots of groovy rock n roll jams from the 60’s and 70’s as well as jazz and blues from the 40’s and 50’s. Django Reinhardt was a French guitarist who helped develop a new style of jazz guitar due to the fact that two of his fingers were paralyzed and he could only play with his index and middle finger. “Georgia on my mind” is a sweet little song that I have fallen in love with the last couple weeks. Play this as you dip your brownie in that milk. Bon appetit!